Dec 28, 2015
The Faith for Conception
Garfield Miller
Missisions Coordinator
The Missionary Society
The book of Luke (Chapter 1) recounts the well-known story of the visit to virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel who informs her of her Godly favor; her selection above all women to conceive and bring forth the promised Messiah, Son of the Most High. Mary responds “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled.” — Luke 1:38. The miracle of Christ’s birth has seemingly descended into the mundane, and we often forget the supernatural intervention that made it possible for Mary to give birth. How did that happen? What did Mary contribute to the conception process? Was faith necessary for this conception? These are queries that will be briefly explored in this article.
Mary had a faith response to Gabriel; the thought of producing a child was implanted into her faith, conceiving the child in the Spirit (primary conception) which facilitated the process of her becoming physically impregnated, as the manifestation of the primary conception. Mary conceiving Jesus was indeed a miracle! Throughout the Bible there are many other accounts of miracles through man’s expressed faith, but there are also accounts of miracles without the expressed faith of man. The account of Elizabeth and Zacharias is a great example of a miracle without the expressed faith of man. Elizabeth experienced a miraculous conception without Zacharias believing. The world can experience God’s power without man’s faith. However it would appear that if we are joining with God in His work, faith is a requirement. “Without faith it is impossible to please God,“ — Hebrews 11:6a.
To please God we must display steadfast conviction about our position in Christ and God’s preeminence. This will lead to our availability to partner with God in producing events that are not explicable by natural or scientific laws. This resolute conviction leads to faith, which is described in Hebrews as the substance and
evidence of our desires unseen. In the case with the two blind men in Matthew 9, they sought healing from Jesus. He asked them if they believed He could do it and they answered in the affirmative. Healing them Jesus said, “by your faith be it done unto you.” – Matthew 2:29b. Their faith fused with the idea of being able to see and then was nourished by the creative energy of God to change blindness to sight.
Reproductive infertility for a woman can be both topically and personally difficult but it is a reality; some women are just not physically able to conceive and give birth to a child for different reasons. In the same way, due to a lack of faith, many Christians are not able to conceive in order to change their reality or bring about God’s promises. Being able to develop a preferred future in our minds is the first step in experiencing a miracle.
Mary conceived and brought forth Jesus Christ because it was first God’s will. Her faith was a vital ingredient in this process. The substance within Mary was rich and
prepared soil for the conception of God’s will, though seemingly impossible. We must remember that nothing is impossible with God because of who He is: creator and sustainer of the entire universe. We are not exempted from Satan’s darts so we will experience hard times, but with faith we can bring to reality our Godly desires through first believing that it can be.
May we become the Lord’s servant to the extent that His will may be conceived and delivered through us!